Favoritism-

-Anonymous

"Look at you." Cush smirked. "Scared. Yes?"

  Elias could hear his disturbing voice through the constant pat of the falling rain. His mouth refused to open, and even if it would allow him to speak, he was at lost for words. A small laugh left Cush's lips as Eli's silence was enough to confirm it.

"I can see it all over your face." He said, stepping closer to him. No matter how hard Elias tried to move, his legs stood stiff; completely paralyzed in fear. He used everything in him not to panic. He's never lost control of himself. Never had a reason to, until now, but he refused. "Weakness."

He could hear his steps as they met the tiny puddles of water on the ground.

Pit-pat...pit-pat...splash.

He was standing in front of him now. Face to face. Cush was taller; thin. His presence was brooding and heavy. Eli was terrified. It was too much. The overwhelming queasiness manifested in Eli's stomach. He hated it. The fear; how it consumed him in every way. Physique wise, Elias knew he was stronger; knew he could rough him up with no problem. That wasn't what was stopping him. No. He couldn't move.

"New guy...tough guy." Cush snorted, tilting his head. "What are you scared of? The body?"

Eli felt the warm putrid feeling rise in his throat.

"Death?"

An acidy, bitter taste flooded his mouth.

"Me?"

He turned to the side, gagging as the explosion of bile escaped him. He could hear Cush laugh as he chucked up the last bit. His eyes watered as the burning, tingling sensation overtook his throat and mouth.

"Damn." Cush continued to chuckle, watching him. "Get it all out...wow, you actually ate their lunch?"

Eli staggered back, regaining his composure. He watched Cush take another step towards him; hands reaching out and Elias moved back, instantly getting defensive. Cush furrowed his brows before his face relaxed as realization dawned upon him.

"Really? You think I killed her?"

Elias said nothing, wiping away at his mouth; unable to think clearly.

"If I killed her, you think you'd still be breathing?" Eli's wheezing picked up as he met his eyes once more. "You'd be implying I'm a terrible murderer-not covering up my tracks. I'd have happily done it while you were too busy being a coward. It'd be easy. I don't even like you."

Eli furrowed his brows.

Cush scoffed. "More so, I wouldn't have left the body in such way. So...careless. It's degrading."

Eli watched as the boy in front of him thought too deeply on the subject. Though, the way the boy was putting it did sound quite crazy, oddly enough, knowing how he would have done it compared to how it was done made Elias relax a little.

"You think I'd still be here?"

"What are you doing here?" Eli finally spoke, and Cush paused, tucking his hands in his pockets.

"Could ask the same for you."

"So you just...just found it?"

"It?" Cush looked back for a moment. "I believe she's a woman. No need to strip her of that title because she has died. Death is natural and one the most important parts of life, if not the most important. Though, most people insist on trying to set the two apart. I can see you're one of them."

"What? That-that doesn't matter!" Eli was growing justifiably frustrated. They were casually conversing by a corpse and his pool of vomit. Nothing about this was normal, yet they were treating it as such, and Elias grew nauseated again by the whole twisted situation. "Who cares about what to call it-she whatever! There's still a rotting corpse in that alley and we haven't done shit!"

"She's fresh."

Eli paused as the words met his ears. "What?"

"She died recently." Cush explained. "You can tell by her eyes. They're-"

"What is wrong with you?" Elias shook his head, reaching in his back pocket for his phone. "Have you called the police yet? Have you done anything?"

"No. No, of course not." Eli glanced at him disgusted as he spoke. "If I called, they'd make me stay and make a statement. I don't have time for that. Don't care enough either." Cush shrugged. "But when you call, do me a favor and don't mention me." Cush began turning away.

"There's something wrong with you." Eli said and Cush paused, turning his head around.

"Wrong enough to be the killer?" He smirked. Elias cringed at that smirk. The slight showing of his teeth; the uneven curl in his lips. Eli stayed silent as the smirk abruptly disappeared, and Cush began walking again.

He's creepy he thought. How he spoke so comfortably on the subject like it was a conversation he had with himself everyday. He didn't even-

"Why didn't you suspect me?" Eli blurted, watching him saunter away.

Without stopping or turning his head for acknowledgement, Cush spoke, sending a chilling feeling down Eli's spine.

"Other than you spilling Somerset's mystery meat, I know it's not you because La Mort Noire, our towns serial killer, has been around longer than you think."

~*~

The bright red and blue lights flashed through the night. Men in blue suits covered the scene and a few of the townsfolk surrounded the outline. The alley was completely blocked off with shiny, yellow police tape. Elias watched as they propped the shielded body onto the stretcher, rolling it passed him. A shiver ran up his spine. It didn't matter that they had covered it. He remembered.

"Your father should be here shortly." The peached colored officer said, putting his hands on his belt. Eli could tell by his hat that the man held some sort of authority over the others, and that his name was Decan as seen by the name tag above his chest. "We appreciate your help. I know you'd much rather be at home right about now."

Eli thought about it for a moment. Would I?

"Hell." The officer sighed. "We all would. This is the third one this year and we ain't found shit. Erm...excuse my French."

"No leads?" Eli asked.

"Don't I wish. The only thing we get from this bastard are the bodies. I'm just glad you ain't see the worst of them." Eli watched the officer shake his head. "God knows I'm tired of chasing this sonofabitch. Damn tired of it."

"You mean La Mort...Noire?" Eli asked, recalling the name.

"Jesus, I wish you kids would stop calling him that. Giving him a name gives him recognition; power. He's not a celebrity. He's a serial killer, and I'm gonna catch him."

They both watched as the body was lifted into the ambulance and the team hopped in after, slamming the doors. "Now before you go, I wanna make sure I got everything. Any information you have would be helpful towards our investigation. You said you were walking home from school and you just stumbled up on it?"

The officer looked at him and Eli nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Was it just you or did you see someone else?"

Elias paused, remembering that crooked smirk on Cush's lips. The dark, twisted tug on his mouth. He didn't want them to know he thought. But he's creepy as hell and I don't owe him shit.

"Ahh. Probably not. Streets are always so bare nowadays. Did you-"

"Yea, actually." Elias finally spoke and the officer stopped instantly. "Tall, white boy; black hair. Goes to my school. His name is Cush."

"Wait you said Cush? Evans boy?" He asked.

Assuming, with a name like that, there had to only be one Cush in the town. "I guess. All I know is that he was closer to the body than me. He was acting weird."

"Weird?" The officer rose his bushy brow.

"Very. Even told me not to let you guys know he was here at all."

"That's uh...that is weird. Thank you. We'll get this all figured out." The officer put a hand on his shoulder. "What'd you say your name was again?"

"Elias Vey."

"Great job tonight, Mr. Vey." He nodded, giving Elias a few pats before returning to his squad car. Minutes passed and Eli's mind drifted as he examined the few people standing around. They all had something in common. It was in their faces. The same face he wore a few hours ago. Suddenly, it clicked.

I see he thought. The town wasn't eerie and blank. It wasn't stripped of color and fun. It wasn't dead and gray. No, not originally at least. All this was the product of what the town really was. Afraid.

Elias has never lived in a town with a murderer on the lose. It felt like a dream. Some sort of fairytale story that he didn't like. He didn't know what to think. The only thing on his mind at the moment was what everyone wanted to know.

Who was La Mort Noire?

His father's recognizable green car pulled up to the scene, its lights brightly shining on Elias as he made his way to the passengers seat. He climbed in but before his father could take off, officer Decan jogged up to Eli's window.

"Not tryna hold you up any longer sir." The officer looked at his father. "I just want you to know your son did a damn good job tonight. Helped out quite a bit and I want to apologize for the circumstances, but whenever I can return the favor, I'd be honored to help the Vey family out at anytime."

"Thank you. We appreciate it." His father nodded, and Decan looked down at Elias.

"Anytime, alright." He tapped the door before backing away, and finally his father took to the road. Elias let a tiny smile form on his face. Maybe for once his father would congratulate him. Even though finding a body wasn't much of an accomplishment, Officer Decan made him seem like a hero of a sort. His father had to be feeling some sort of pride, and that made the smile on his face stretch a little. The ride was silent until they couldn't see the flashing lights in the rear view mirror anymore.

"The hell were you doing walking home when you ride the bus?"

Elias looked at his father. Now realizing he had dark bags under his eyes and he was still dressed in his work clothes. His hair was disheveled and his mouth was pursed into a tight straight line.

"I just thought-"

"No, Eli! You don't think! Look what happened!" His father's voice caught him off guard.

"It's not my fault. I found a woman and she was-"

"I'm not saying the body was your fault. But do you know what time it is?! Huh?! Your mothers late for her other shift because she had to stay home with Ava. Which is what you were supposed to do!"

"She's not my-"

"To hell with that!" His father yelled, causing Eli to instantly swallow whatever he had to say. "She's your mother whether you like it or not. She helps pay for the roof over your head, food in your stomach, and the clothes on your ungrateful ass. You're always focused on the wrong things, Eli. She's our only source of income right now. I mean have you forgotten I don't have a job? She damn near missed her entire second shift needed for us to eat this week. I had to drive half way across the state for you, missing my fucking interview...All this because Elias wants to take it upon himself to walk home!"

His father slowed to a stop at the red sign.

"I didn't mean for-"

"If our family loses all we have because of your screw up today...If Ava..." he took in a sharp breath. "Don't ever do anything stupid like this again or I will beat the living hell out of you! Do you understand me?!"

His eyes snapped to Elias. His daggers digging into him. "Do you understand me?"

Elias was hurt, confused, and heated. He didn't see what was wrong with what he did, while also seeing everything wrong with what he did. Though, it didn't really matter in the end. He knew he had lost the moment his father started.

"Yes."

Hooooonk!

  His father snapped his gaze towards the car behind them, cussing at them before pressing on the gas. The drive back home was completely silent. Eli didn't dare to speak a word, only keeping his gaze towards the passing figures outside his window and his father was too heated to think of any words at the moment. As they pulled along side the front of their home, Eli undid his buckle only to be stopped by his father's hand.

When Elias finally looked at his face, he could see his eyes had softened and he was slouched over. He looked defeated. Like something was bothering him. Like there was something he meant to say.

Was he going to acknowledge my courage? Eli thought. Was he going to...apologize?

"Elias." He said. "Don't tell Ava about anything that happened. I can't take her being scared."

Eli's face slowly changed from hopeful to depressed as the words left his father's lips. "We should have done more research. We were just so excited to move and they made the offer so appealing. It was a mistake...Brie knows now but can you do that for me? Just keep the whole killer thing to yourself for Ava's sake?"

"Yea...dad. I would never tell her something like that." Eli answered, exiting the car at the same time. He walked inside and ignored the happy little girl jumping with joy at his return. He didn't want to look at her. Didn't want to think about her.

"Eli! Hey Eli! I missed you..." Her words went soft; the enthusiasm leaving her voice as she watched him walk passed without saying a word. His mood flowed through the rest of the house and Ava's smile disappeared completely, but he didn't care. It was always about Ava.

  She was all his father ever gave a damn about...or he just couldn't care less about Elias. Either way, he wasn't worrying about the fact that his son might be traumatized. He wasn't fazed about what his son saw; wasn't concerned if he was scared or scarred. He didn't care about what he had to say as long as Ava was a part of it.

"Eli?" Ava called as he jogged up the stairs to his room. She ran to the bottom of the steps, watching his figure disappear to the second floor.

"Hey sweet pea." Ava quickly turned around to see her father with a big smile on his exhausted face.

~*~
Sunday Morning

Holland Mercci.

Elias could still remember the name gliding across the bottom of the news screen as the blonde woman with the mic confirmed the body belonged to her. She was only twenty-two years old. She was reported missing by her grandmother a week ago when she didn't come home on her way from work.

Groaning, he turned up the volume of his music in his ears trying to drown out the scenes from that night, but it seemed like the harder he tried the clearer her face became in his mind.

Who could do something like that to someone? He thought. Why? Why take someone's life? What is there to gain?

He found himself constantly thinking about this La Mort Noire character. With nothing better to do, it didn't seem bad to wonder. He wanted to know why they did it, and more importantly who it was. Who wouldn't?

"Eli?"

His brows furrowed as he heard the tiny muffled voice from behind his door.

"Eli, can you come out?" She whined. He snatched out his ear buds, sitting up in his bed. "Pleeease?"

It's been a couple of days. Two to be exact. He hasn't spoken a word to Ava since that night. It wasn't her fault and he knew that. He knew she was the pure one of the family; didn't want to take sides between her father and Eli. Elias wouldn't want her to, but he couldn't help that he felt a slither of hate towards her for being so perfect. Perfect to his father. Eli didn't want to be jealous of her, but...

She was younger. She was brighter. Happier. Whiter...

Eli was different from her. All of them actually. With his mother being black, it would make sense that his skin was darker than theirs. Just one more thing to set him apart. The black sheep. The outcast. The forgotten one.

Ava was accepted; loved. That's more than what can be said about Eli.

"I have candy for you." He heard the ruffle of a plastic bag she was holding. "It's not a lot but I want to share with you."

Eli sighed. Why did she have to be so sweet?
He stood from his bed about to open the door; his big brother instincts coming in.

"Daddy gave it to me."

He paused.

Why did he have to favor you so much?